In case you haven’t already noticed, I love Instagram. So I was quite excited that the Instagram app for Android users was released yesterday. And today I have some new Android followers to join in the photo sharing fun. One of my new followers asked me for some quick tips to get started. I’m no Instagram expert, but I have learned a few helpful things in the short time since I have been using it. So here are my starter tips for new Instagramers…

Make a profile! I always check profiles to get some basic info like where the user is located, what kind of phone or camera they use, link to website, etc…

The Find Friends option is helpful to get started in finding Instagramers you may already be connected with through Facebook or Twitter. It’s a start. Once you are following people, you can check your News feed and choose ‘Following’ to see updates on photos they have liked. I find this to be a good way of finding more people to follow. You can also check the Popular tab as well.

Camera – I never use the Instagram camera. I normally use the native iPhone camera or Camera+. I prefer this because it gives me more options to edit and crop the photo the way I want before uploading to Instagram.

Photo editing apps – I don’t know what kind of apps are out there for Android users but I am always trying new and different apps for my iPhone to edit my photos. Instagram actually doesn’t have very many filters or photo editing options, so if you want your photos to be unique and different, I suggest you check to see what’s out there in photo apps. Personally, I rarely edit my photos in Instagram, I use it mainly for uploading and sharing my finished photos.

Tag your photos – one of the things I love about Instagram is getting feedback when someone likes my photo, or some helpful tips to improve on future photos. If you don’t have a lot of followers you may not get a lot of feedback. This is where tagging your photos is really helpful because it helps you reach more people. I rarely use hashtags on Twitter because I’ve been subjected to trolls because of it, but on Instagram, I love tags!

Link to other social media – This is not necessary, but I always cross post my photos to Tumblr and also to Facebook, sometimes to Twitter. If you don’t have a Tumblr, you might want to consider starting one. It’s not like we all need another social media account in our lives to manage, but I like to keep a collection of my Instagram photos in their full high res glory – in other words, I like big ass pictures. Tumblr is popular for photography blogs and you can send your pics straight from Instagram.

I can’t think of anything else to add right now, but I think that’s a pretty good start. And if you have any tips to add, or comments, please let me know!I love Instagram because it makes it so easy to get creative with snapshots of my life to share with others. I look forward to seeing your photos from your point of view in the world.